A fluoroalkanol is useful as an intermediate for e.g. a water and oil repellent, a surfactant or a photographic color-developing material (e.g. JP-A-54-154707). Further, such a compound presents no solubility to a plastic substrate of e.g. polycarbonate and thus is useful as a solvent for an optical recording material, a dye, etc. (JP-A-4-8585, JP-A-5-258346, etc.).
Heretofore, a fluoroalkanol has been produced, for example, by a method of adding tetrafluoroethylene to methanol. As such a method, (1) a method wherein methanol, tetrafluoroethylene and a radical initiator are charged all at once and heated (U.S. Pat. No. 2,559,628), (2) a method wherein methanol, tetrafluoroethylene and a radical initiator are charged all at once and continuously reacted in a reaction column (U.S. Pat. No. 3,022,356), (3) a method wherein methanol and a radical initiator are charged all at once, and tetrafluoroethylene is continuously added and reacted (JP-A-54-154707), or (4) a method wherein tetrafluoropropanol and various telogens, are continuously reacted in the presence of a catalyst, at a temperature of not higher than 100° C. (JP-B-42-10782), has, for example, been known.
However, the method (1) has a problem that it is difficult to control the number of addition of tetrafluoroethylene, and even if it is attempted to obtain only a highly useful desired product having a number of addition of from 1 to 4, the molecular weight distribution of the product tends to be broad, and the yield tends to be low.
The method (2) has a problem that compounds having a number of addition of tetrafluoroethylene of 3 or more, are mainly formed, while a product having a number of addition of tetrafluoroethylene of 1 to 2 is small. The method (3) has a problem that it is necessary to add a solid acid scavenger, or it takes a long time for the reaction. Further, the method (4) has a problem that the concentration of the obtained telomer is as low as about 10%, and the average degree of polymerization tends to be extremely high at a level of 32, while the amount of products having a number of addition of from 1 to 4 tends to be extremely low.